Penalty of Death: Barbaric or Justifiable Homicide

Penalty of Death: Barbaric or Justifiable HomicideThe most severe form of punishment of all legal sentences is that of death. This is referred to as the death penalty, or capital punishment; this is the most severe form of corporal punishment, requiring law enforcement officers to actually kill the offenders. It has been banned in numerous countries, in the United States, however an earlier move to eliminate capital punishment has now been reserved and more and more states are resorting to capital punishment for such serious offenders namely murder. "Lex talionis," mentioned by the Bible encourages "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" mentality, and people have been using it regularly for centuries. We use it in reference to burglary, adultery, and various other situations, although, some people enforce it on a different level, some people use it in reference to death. An individual may steal from those who have stolen from him, or an individual wrongs those who have wronged him, but should an individual have the right to kill to seek retaliation? Four issues are on the hot topic in the United States, stirring up America's feeling towards this issue. There is controversy debating capital punishment today and whether or not it works, or if it is morally right. We have a certain privilege in our own lives, but should the lives of others belong to us as well? Do we have the right to decide on the lives of others; of people we may not even know? If we find someone guilty of murder, we sentence him to death. This makes us murders ourselves, but is there possibility in justifying these acts? Those who assist in the death penalty; are they not partners in crime? Is death penalty a cruel and unusual punishment or is it now just a necessary tool in the war on crime?

The use of death penalty has actually declined throughout the industrial Western World since the 19th century. In 1972, a movement in America to have the death penalty declared unconstitutional arose, during the landmark case of Furman vs. Georgia, declaring the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment. Nonetheless, a Supreme Court decision in 1975, Gregg vs. Georgia, stated capital punishment did not violate the eighth Amendment rights, and the executions began again under state supervision. These inconsistencies and indecisions have obviously sparked a debate. In the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) the death penalty was required for a wide range of offenses, both civil and religious. In the following passages from the King James Version of the Bible, Jehovah required the state to execute a person for murder: Genesis 9:6 states: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man." If sufficient proof were provided that a person had committed a crime, the state imposed the death penalty on the guilty person(s). They were either stoned to death, impaled or burned alive. Witnesses who testified at the trial would often participate in the killing.

Protecting the citizens against harm and wrongdoing is the first and most fundamental duty of government. Capital punishment has turned the tables on fear and put it in the hearts of criminals. People always want to live in a safer place, a place where children can play outside without worry; parents can send their kids to school with peace of mind. People don't have to worry about casting a suspicious eye. Capital punishment is necessary in order for justice to prevail. Capital punishment is the execution of criminals for committing crimes, regarded as so bad that this is the only acceptable punishment. It is one of the only fair punishments allowed by the judicial system. Murder like all other crime is a crime against society. It is for assault upon society that the state inflicts punishment.

No loved ones should have to go through such a wrenching experience. Jannice Hunter, whose 27-year-old daughter, Adrien, was stabbed 47 times by serial killer Nathaniel...

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Outline
1608 Captain George Kendall becomes the first recorded execution in the new colonies
1632 Jane Champion is the first woman executed
1767 Cesare Beccaria’s essay On Crime and Punishment, theorizes that there is no justification for the state to take a life
Late 1700’s United States abolitionist movement begins
Early 1800’s many states reduce their number of capital punishment crimes & build state penitentiaries
1834 Pennsylvania becomes the first state to move executions into correctional facilities
1846 Michigan becomes the first state to abolish the deathpenalty for all crimes except treason
1890 William Kemler becomes the first person executed by electrocution
Early 1900’s beginning of the Progressive Period of reform in the United States
1907-1917 Nine states abolish the deathpenalty for all crimes or strictly limit it
1920s-1940s American Abolition movement loses support
1924 The use of cyanide gas introduced as an execution method
1930s Executions reach the highest levels in American History- Average 167 per year
1966 Support of capital punishment reaches an all-time low A Gallup poll shows support of the deathpenalty at only 42%
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